Chapter 108
All performances are over.
After the audience left, all the contestants stood on the stage as if they were being punished.
The original host and the invited special guests will announce the rankings together. The brutal elimination round will begin here. The audience will vote, and the band at the bottom of the ranking will be eliminated directly.
The atmosphere was tense, and Zhou Li couldn't help but frown and look serious.
Shan Jia and Zhu Le stood behind her. The three of them had the same expression, staring at the host who was still deliberately joking and delaying time.
Every time the rankings are announced, it feels like a punishment. The heart and brain have to be highly concentrated, and I also have to pay attention to my expression so as not to look too ugly in the camera.
The host and the special guest sang in unison, and finally slowly opened the ranking letters in their hands.
"Now I will announce everyone's ranking..."
Zhou Li didn't know how much the audience liked his band, but he had a rough ranking in his mind based on his own preferences. In this ranking, Yizhihua Band was far ahead, Highway Band was not far behind, but not too good either, ranking sixth, not outstanding. Tangbai Band's songs were always pleasing. Zhou Li knew little about other bands and could only make judgments based on what he heard.
There are ten bands in total, and the tenth one will be eliminated.
The first ones announced were six to eight, and then the host came back and announced five to three.
Only the first, second, ninth and tenth places have not been announced.
There is no Rebirth band in the published ranking.
Zhou Li's heart was in a state of panic. Would they be eliminated in the first round? Was the audience's love for them all fake?
Zhou Li is very conflicted. She believes in her own abilities, but she doesn't know what the audience will choose. In a live performance, anything can happen. Maybe the excitement is just driven by the atmosphere, and the audience may not necessarily like their style.
Zhou Li was thinking in a mess when her sleeve was suddenly pulled. She turned her head and saw Shan Jiazheng smiling at her. Zhu Le also grinned, as if to say that no matter what the result was, they could accept it.
Zhou Li's heart was strangely calm, and she quietly waited for the verdict of fate.
They have done their best to the best of their ability and have no regrets.
The ninth place was announced, and it was a band Zhou Li was not familiar with.
"Second place goes to Yizhihua Band. Let us congratulate Zhongsheng Band for taking first place!!!"
Zhou Li was stunned, Shan Jia was also stunned, and Zhu Le was even more dumbfounded.
The special guest looked at the vote count on the letter and said regretfully, "The two teams only separated by one vote, but congratulations to Rebirth. As a band that's only been established for a month, your strength has already been proven by the audience. I hope to hear even more beautiful works from you next time. You're not bad enough to be eliminated..."
Zhou Li could no longer hear what was being said on the stage. She was already trying hard to control her expression so that she didn't burst out laughing.
The three of them formed a circle, put their arms around each other's shoulders, and whispered congratulations.
When the camera panned over, the three of them were trying hard to hold back their laughter. Even Shan Jia, who usually didn't have many facial expressions, had sparkling eyes. Zhu Le was even more controlling himself, trying not to appear too complacent.
Zhou Lili didn't expect that reaching the summit would be so easy.
The eliminated bands are all leaving now. They haven't been together for long and don't have any feelings of parting. But in front of the camera, everyone behaved very restrained. However, the veterans of Yizhihua were very competitive and came over to say congratulations.
After bidding farewell to the eliminated bands, the theme for the second round was immediately announced: "The Sea."
After watching the trailer and finishing the recording, the production team gave the contestants a day off, saying that the first episode would be broadcast on TV on the day of the second recording performance. Zhou Li didn't know what kind of evaluation they would get. Everyone was exhausted and wanted to have a good rest.
Zhou Li went back to get his luggage and went home, planning to come back the next morning. Anyone who lived under a camera for a week would be on edge all the time, but unfortunately, he met Tang Bai on the road.
Tang Bai also knew that he couldn't win against Zhou Li, so he didn't say anything more to her, and coldly said, "You're so lucky."
Zhu Le rolled up his sleeves immediately after hearing this, but Zhou Li said calmly, "Luck is also a manifestation of strength. Some people don't have this kind of luck."
Tang Bai hadn't walked far when he collapsed in anger again. He couldn't understand why the production team would promote a band like Rebirth, who were so stinking. Were they trying to use them to create buzz? They should have promoted the Road Band! After all, they were recommended by the sponsor!
What Tang Bai didn't know was that sometimes luck and strength are both indispensable. The program team wanted to cause a topic in the first episode, but the contestants also had to be strong enough. The original script of the road band was indeed from weak to strong, but there was no sudden appearance that could attract more attention.
The program team has uploaded the original songs of the contestants in the pilot film to the music software. Contrary to everyone's expectation that the veteran bands would receive the most likes, the most popular song among netizens and listeners was the original work of Rebirth Band. Rebirth Band has a fresh, free and cheerful band style, like a refreshing green tornado blowing towards the audience, similar to their team song "Freedom" which was a big hit on Orange Video. This original song topped the new song chart within a week of its release.
When Zhou Li had time to log into the Orange Video account, she found out that they were extremely popular on short videos. The two songs brainwashed the audience on Orange Video, and the downloads and clicks remained high. The original Orange Video anniversary celebration footage was also well-received by the audience, which led to the official also playing memes and urging Qingwa to update the video.
Zhou Li was shocked. Her number of fans, which was only 500,000 before she went on the show, has now reached 1.1 million. In just one week, her followers were all urging her to update her videos. Some even pushed up the number of views of her original videos, and that video received over 10,000 likes.
Zhou Li had the illusion that she was very popular now.
Seeing Zhou Li holding her phone motionlessly, Shan Jia poked her shoulder. Zhou Li looked up in a daze and said, "If I walk on the street now, will someone recognize me and ask for my autograph?"
Shan Jia waved his hand in front of her eyes, and after confirming that Zhou Li was not dreaming, he asked, "What do you want to do? I called a taxi and want to go to the music store."
Zhou Li suddenly woke up and asked, "Where are we going and what are we doing?"
"I want to find a musical instrument that can imitate the sound of going out to sea," said Shan Jia.
Zhou Li put away his phone and said, "I'll go with you."
Shan Jia shook his head, "I can do it alone."
Shan Jia left by car, and Zhou Li went home alone with her suitcase. Zhu Le dropped them off at an intersection near their home and ran away, saying that he would come to pick them up as usual the day after tomorrow.
Zhou Li felt a little uncomfortable after suddenly leaving everyone.
Whether it is the noisy Zhu Le or the quiet Shan Jia, they both have a strong presence, but when they are alone, their silence is rather abrupt.
Zhou Li touched his nose and laughed.
I just have some time, so I’ll edit the vlogs I shot for the show these two days.
She asked the director if she could post it after the show aired, and also use the popularity of the show to promote the Rebirth Band.
Zhou Li has also applied for the band's account, but hasn't decided what to post yet. She might post some videos of their performances.
Zhou Li actually wanted to create an account for Shan Jia, but Shan Jia seemed not interested in these things, so she couldn't force him.
Zhou Li walked home with his suitcase, thinking about things.
After returning home, I took out the dirty clothes to wash, filled my suitcase, took a shower, did some housework, and sat in front of the computer to edit.
Zhou Li worked late into the night without realizing it. She took a look at WeChat and saw that Shan Jia had sent her a voice message at nine o'clock.
Zhou Li saw that it was already past eleven o'clock, so she clicked on it and listened to the gentle sound of the sea.
She found the instrument.
Without saying anything, just the sound of the roaring sea made Zhou Li happy.
Zhou Li repeatedly replayed the vastness of the ocean and imagined himself being blown by the sea breeze on the beach.
She typed: "Still asleep?"
Shan Jia sent: "I have inspiration."
Zhou Li: "So fast?"
Shan Jia: "Not fast."
Most people might not be able to continue the conversation at this point, but Zhou Li is different.
Zhou Li: "After writing, can I be the first audience?"
Shan Jia: "Yes."
Immediately afterwards, Shan Jia sent a voice message, which was the song she had just written.
Playing from the computer speakers, the room of more than ten square meters seemed to have turned into an endless ocean, with waves crashing against the shore. The entire room seemed to be sinking into the deep sea. Zhou Li felt like a swimming fish, swinging his tail around the coral reefs, joining the migration of all fish.
It’s so beautiful.
Quietly sad, yet strangely beautiful.
The whole room seemed to turn into a peaceful blue, which made people feel calm.
Zhou Li liked it as soon as he heard it.
She texted Shan Jia: "I really want to hear the full version."
Shan Jia didn't reply. Seeing that it was very late, Zhou Li went to bed first. She planned to go to see Shan Jia with her suitcase tomorrow.
After a good night's dream, Zhou Li played in the blue ocean, feeling as peaceful as if he had returned to the womb.
In the morning, Zhou Li couldn't wait to wash her face and was ready to pick up her suitcase and run away to meet Shan Jia. But when she picked up her mobile phone, she found that Shan Jia had sent her a very long audio file at four in the morning. Zhou Li was stunned when she clicked it.
This is the full version of the song.
She sat down while listening. Zhou Li exited the document and looked at the time when Shan Jia sent the document: 4:22 in the morning.
Another sleepless night.
It's only eight o'clock now, and Zhou Li is sitting still.
Shan Jiacai had only slept for less than four hours, and it would be a disturbance if she went there now.
Estimating Shan Jia's usual sleep time, Zhou Li went to the supermarket, bought some food, and waited until ten o'clock before going to Shan Jia's house.
Because Zhou Li often went to Shan Shanjia's place during rehearsals, Shan Jia told Zhou Li the combination lock of his door.
As Zhou Li pushed open the door, she heard a click. She looked up and saw Shan Jia, who had just finished taking a shower and was naked with only a large towel draped over his shoulders, coming out.
They were both stunned. Zhou Li came in and closed the door. She turned her back and said in a muffled voice, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was coming."
The footsteps disappeared behind Zhou Li. She heard the door closing. She waited for a while before turning around carefully. Shan Jia's door was closed, so she went in.
Zhou Li breathed a sigh of relief, and the bag in her hand almost slipped. She put the suitcase at the door, put the food into the kitchen, and stood in the kitchen staring at the counter in a daze.
What should she do in such an embarrassing situation? Zhou Li shook her head, trying hard to get rid of the scene she had just seen, but those yellow wastes kept drilling into her mind. Zhou Li hugged her head and squatted on the ground, knowing that she was finished.
In the past, she had the excuse that she admired Shan Jia’s talent.
Now she has desire for Shan Jia. This is not the emotion between friends, but love.
Because I don't have the desire to hold my friend under me.
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